Hugo Chavez: A criminal or revolutionary leader

On 6^th March 2013, Venezuelan vice-president Nicolas Maduro formally announced the death of Hugo Chavez. Although almost all Americans have heard the name Hugo Chavez before, some fail to recognize what kind of leader he was. Frequently asked questions about the subject matter are: what type of a leader was Chavez, what kind of government is in place and was Hugo Chavez liked by his citizens. Hugo Chavez was known for his profoundly anti-democratic tendencies as Venezuela has been a Socialist rule through the entirety of his 14 year reign. The reason why Chavez’s rule was so controversial is because he was believed to genuinely care for the poor. This is a human rights issue because in many places around the world the ultra poor are not seen as fully human, and do not have equal representation in the government. The way Hugo Chavez ran the government is sometimes seen as almost revolutionary because he put the poor in top priority (even though this is heavily debated, this is the platform on which he would govern). Although there are many flaws with a socialist government, it raises the question of how much should the government care for the poor. The strongest argument about this question of how to rule the government arises when considering does a socialist government actually work? According to the Washington Post, Hugo Chavez’s popularity has been decrease sing, especially amongst the poor. This ultimately means that the poor people (that Chavez was so keen on taking care of) were losing confidence in him. Ultimately it’s the people in power that get to decide what role the poor should play in politics and how their lifestyles should be impacted by the government.

(http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/03/06/hugo-chavezs-legacy-in-six-charts/)

(http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/03/06/world/americas/hugo-chavez-readers-reactions.html?_r=0)